corral

1 of 2

noun

cor·​ral kə-ˈral 

-ˈrel

1

: a pen or enclosure for confining or capturing livestock

herded the cattle into the corral

2

: an enclosure made with wagons for defense of an encampment

corral

2 of 2

verb

corralled; corralling

transitive verb

1

: to enclose in a corral (see corral entry 1 sense 1)

corralled the horses

2

: to arrange (wagons) so as to form a corral (see corral entry 1 sense 2)

3

: collect, gather

corralling votes for the upcoming election

Synonyms of corral

Noun

• cage
• coop

Verb

• house
• confine
• enclose
• surround
• pen
• cage
• encase

Examples of corral in a Sentence

Noun

the horses live in our corral, along with a cow

Verb

corralled everyone in the conference room for a speech by the CEO

corralled a scattering of stray pens and quickly stuffed them in the drawer to tidy the desk

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Officers then set up a temporary corral. —Nicole Buss, Sacbee.com, 11 Apr. 2026

At its heart is a magnificent wooden lodge—the second-largest west of the Mississippi—with a sprawling wraparound deck overlooking horse pastures and corrals. —Julie Bielenberg, USA Today, 4 Apr. 2026

Verb

But who has more perks, intangibles and not-so-incidentals to corral them than Hurley and the Huskies? —Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 15 Apr. 2026

That small drawer can corral everything from charging cables to coasters. —Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Sacbee.com, 14 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Spanish, from Vulgar Latin *currale enclosure for vehicles, from Latin currus cart, from currere to run — more at car

First Known Use

Noun

1582, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1847, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for corral

• canal
• chorale
• ghazal
• locale
• morale
• royale
• bal
• dal
• gal
• mal
• pal
• sal

Kids Definition

corral

1 of 2 noun

cor·​ral kə-ˈral 

1

: a pen for keeping or capturing livestock

2

: an enclosure made with wagons for defense of a camp

corral

2 of 2 verb

corralled; corralling

1

: to keep in or as if in a corral

2

: surround entry 1, capture

3

: to arrange wagons so as to form a corral